The Wheelhouse

On Tuesday night, President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. The reason given? Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal. Comey's job was praised by then-candidate Trump, and widely credited with helping to tip the election Trump's way.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Office of Fiscal Analysis reports that tax revenues are plunging.  The state's 100 largest-income tax payers paid 45 percent less this year than last.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut lawmakers failed to come to an agreement on a budget proposal Tuesday, with leaders from both parties blaming each other for their failure to act . This gridlock is new to the state legislature, a result of the most recent election: Parties are now evenly split in the Senate for the first time in over a century .  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listene...

Governor Dannel Malloy made the official announcement that he's not running for re-election in 2018. Meanwhile, the list of folks interested the job seems to be growing: Lembo, Ganim, Kennedy, Boughton, Klarides, Harris?  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, started with a warning to the U.S. - don't strike the Syrian regime again.  Back home, the consensus among Connecticut's delegation in Washington is that President Trump should have informed Congress before sending missiles into Syria.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/liste...

A leading economist said that Connecticut’s economy is in a “state of emergency .” This hour, we try to figure out if that's better - or worse - than Ben Barnes's "Permanent State of Fiscal Crisis." Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim is pleased with his first year back in office -- in fact he’s given himself a B-plus.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been 20 years since Connecticut's landmark Sheff v. O'Neill ruling, which said that segregation in Hartford schools was unconstitutional. This hour, we dive into an investigation by The Hartford Courant about how some neighborhood schools are still struggling, and how Sheff didn't solve the challenge of school integration.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com...

Fifty-two years ago this week, 600 peaceful protesters gathered in Selma, Alabama for what would become known as The Bloody Sunday March. Their goal was to draw attention to the importance of protecting the vote, not just for African Americans, but all Americans.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we dissect President Trump's joint address to Congress -- what he's themed  "the renewal of the American spirit." Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Wheelhouse -- WNPR’s Weekly News Roundtable -- as we celebrate our first week as “The Enemy of the American People!”  It’s true that trust and confidence in the media has faltered over the years, as has confidence in every branch of government. But the “failing” New York Times , as President Trump calls the paper, has actually seen a gigantic surge in its readership. Support th...

It's been an interesting week for Connecticut U.S. Senators. President Donald Trump said Richard Blumenthal misrepresented a conversation with Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. In a tweet , Trump called out the Senator for an incident in 2010: "Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie)." Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio....

It's budget day! It's the day Governor Dannel Malloy unveils his budget proposal to the state. And what can we expect? Well, cities and towns may be on the hook for more money going towards teachers' pensions ; the elimination of a $200 property tax credit;  changes to the Education Cost Sharing formula ; a transportation lockbox?  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See o...

The theme of the past week may well be "protest." Thousands came out to local airports across the country to protest Donald Trump's immigration executive order. Democrats, including Connecticut's own senator Chris Murphy, are speaking out against Trump's executive orders and cabinet nominations. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're halfway through week one of Donald Trump's presidency. So far, we've experienced Sean Spicer's "abnormal" press conference , an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, separate meetings with the President of Egypt and union leaders, another executive order to advance the approval of oil pipelines, and  not one tax return .  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/...

The inauguration is days away. Whether you're excited or not, the transfer of power from Barack Obama to Donald Trump is an historic event.  And an expensive event, at a price tag of more than $200 million . The Department of Homeland Security says they expect 900,000, including many protestors . While past Presidents like Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George W. Bush will be in attendance,...

Last night night, President Obama delivered his farewell address to the nation. The speech was - let’s say, juxtaposed - with news that intelligence officials have briefed both Obama and President-Elect Donald Trump about reports that Russia had gathered “salacious” and compromising material about Trump. Although, it’s unclear what exactly counts as salacious anymore.  Support the show: http:...

Wednesday is the start of Connecticut’s legislative session. Lawmakers reconvene, starting squarely at a massive state budget deficit, and a crisis in pension costs that Comptroller Kevin Lembo said will “crush us” unless something is done.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. locks up more people than any other country in the world, with 2.3 million people behind bars. One-third of the U.S. population has a criminal record.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The electoral college voted, and Donald Trump is still President-elect. But that big news paled in comparison to two terror attacks that posed direct threats to relations between European countries, Russia, Turkey and the conflict in Syria.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The CIA released a report that Russia intervened in the election, findings that President-elect Donald Trump says are "ridiculous." It has many Americans wondering about the role of the electoral college. Could these electors actually vote to keep Trump out of the White House? The New York Times called that chance a “moonshot.”  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/list...

Ben Carson has a new role as head of Housing and Urban Development . Trump took a controversial call with Taiwan . On Twitter, the President-elect threatened companies who plan to move jobs overseas, and criticized the cost of the new Air Force One: "Cancel order!" Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the past week President-elect  Donald Trump has tweeted about Cuba, and the recount funded by the Green Party. He tweeted eleven times about Hillary Clinton and voter fraud, including a controversial tweet in which he claimed that "millions of people voted illegally." Trump re-tweeted a 16-year-old who criticized coverage of CNN, and said people who burn the American flag should face conse...

In his recent New Yorker commentary, Jelani Cobb writes about the defiance some states are feeling towards President-elect Trump and his policies. Democratic leaders in California and New York have released statements saying they'll protect their most vulnerable communities.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, the country is settling into the idea of what a Trump presidency might look like. The President-elect has dialed back his rhetoric on Obamacare and NATO . He's hired a transition team chock-full of family members, political insiders, and most controversially a person criticized from both the right and the left as "the modern face of racism." The new head of the EPA may well be a cl...